SA20
Countries | South Africa |
---|---|
Administrator | Cricket South Africa |
Format | Twenty20 |
First edition | 2022–23 |
Tournament format | Round-robin and playoffs |
Number of teams | 6 |
Current champion | Sunrisers Eastern Cape |
Most successful | Sunrisers Eastern Cape |
TV | SuperSport (South Africa) Sports18 (India) Sky Sports (England) Jio Cinema (India) (internet) |
Website | thesat20 |
2023–24 SA20 |
SA20, known as the Betway SA20 for sponsorship reasons, is a Twenty20 franchise cricket tournament in South Africa, organised by Cricket South Africa (CSA) and first contested during the 2022–23 season.[1][2] It is contested by six teams based in cities around the country.[3] [4] The first winners of the tournament were Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
History
Cricket South Africa established the franchise T20 Global League in 2017. The inaugural season was deferred by a year due to the lack of a broadcast deal and title sponsor and in June 2018 was replaced by the Mzansi Super League, a league featuring six CSA-owned teams.[5] Both the leagues became unsuccessful.[6] The MSL ran for only two seasons, the 2020 and 2021 editions being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
SA20 was established by CSA in 2022 through a newly formed entity, Africa Cricket Development (Pty) Limited (ACD). CSA is the majority stakeholder in ACD with a 50% share, while broadcaster SuperSport has a 30% share and former Indian Premier League (IPL) Chief Operating Officer Sundar Raman, the remaining 20%.[7] All six of the teams were bought by franchises from the IPL.[8] In July 2022, CSA announced that the One Day International series against Australia due to be played in January 2023 would be cancelled in order for SA20 to go ahead.[9]
In August 2022, Graeme Smith was announced as the commissioner for the tournament.[10] Later in the month, the marquee players for the first season were announced.[3]
In December 2023 Cricket South Africa announced that it would send a makeshift Test team, comprising players with little or no Test cricket experience, to its scheduled two-Test tour of New Zealand in February 2024, to allow its best players to remain in South Africa to compete in the SA20. The decision was widely criticised.[11] [12]
Organisation
The six teams play each other twice in the group stages of the competition before the top four sides move to the semi-final stages.[13]
Teams acquire players through an auction as opposed to a draft, making it the second cricket league in the world after the Indian Premier League to do so. Each team purchases a squad of 17 players, with the opportunity of signing up to five players prior to the auction: three international players; one South African international player; and one uncapped South African player.[14][15]
Teams
The six teams are all owned by existing Indian Premier League franchise owners.[16]
Tournament season and results
Season | Final | No. of teams | Player of the series | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Venue | Winners | Result | Runners-up | |||
2022–23 | Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg | Sunrisers Eastern Cape 137/6 (16.2 overs) |
Sunrisers Eastern Cape won by 4 wickets Scorecard |
Pretoria Capitals 135 (19.3 overs) |
6 | Aiden Markram (Sunrisers Eastern Cape) |
2023–24 | 6 |
Teams' performances
Season | 2023 | 2024 |
---|---|---|
Durban's Super Giants | 6th | |
Joburg Super Kings | SF | |
MI Cape Town | 5th | |
Paarl Royals | SF | |
Pretoria Capitals | RU | |
Sunrisers Eastern Cape | C |
- C: champions
- RU: runner-up
- SF or PO: team qualified for the semi-final stage of the competition
Broadcasting
SuperSport, Sky Sports and the Sports18 network broadcast the tournament in South Africa, the United Kingdom and India respectively.
As of January 2023[update], Betway SA20 and Sky Sports have a five-year contract to broadcast the T20 cricket league.[23]
References
- ^ "Cricket South Africa announces new six-team franchise-based T20 competition". ESPN Cricinfo.
- ^ "T20 COMES HOME AS CSA AND SUPERSPORT ANNOUNCE GRAND NEW EVENT". Cricket South Africa.
- ^ a b "CSA T20 League 2023: List of players signed up for the first edition". Wisden. 12 August 2022.
- ^ "CSA T20 league to be called 'SA20'; player auction to be held on September 19". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ "Haroon Lorgat calls for independent inquiry into 'collapsed' T20 Global League". Hindustan Times. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ "The SA20 player auction: all you need to know". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
- ^ "CSA confident of seeing off legal challenge to new T20 league". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ "CSK, Mumbai Indians interested in buying franchises in South Africa's new T20 league". ESPN Cricinfo. 13 August 2022.
- ^ "South Africa's men's cricket team withdraws from three-match ODI series against Australia in January". ABC News. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
- ^ "Graeme Smith Named as Commissioner for CSA's New T20 league". Times of Sports. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
- ^ "A South Africa Test squad with just seven capped players". ESPN cricinfo. 30 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "South African cricket's Faustian pact keeps the lights on, but at a price". The Guardian. 30 August 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "SA20 2022/23 Table, Matches, win, loss, points for SA20". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ "Cricket South Africa | GLOBAL CRICKET SUPERSTAR LINED UP FOR SOUTH AFRICA T20 LEAGUE". Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ "CSA T20 league: Livingstone and Buttler in top salary bracket as England, SA players hit paydirt". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ "IPL franchise owners buy all six teams in South Africa's new T20 league". ESPN Cricinfo.
- ^ Taylor, Compiled by Craig. "Klusener set for head coach role at Durban franchise in Cricket SA's new T20 league". Sport. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
- ^ "Faf du Plessis appointed captain of Johannesburg Super Kings in SA20 league; Stephen Fleming named head coach". TimesNow. September 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
- ^ "MI Cape Town appoint Robin Peterson as head coach and Lasith Malinga as bowling coach". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- ^ Sportstar, Team (15 September 2022). "SA20: JP Duminy named head coach of Paarl Royals". sportstar.thehindu.com. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
- ^ "Former Ireland cricket boss Graham Ford named Pretoria Capitals head coach". The Irish Times. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
- ^ "Birrell, Steyn to coach Sunrisers Eastern Cape". HeraldLIVE. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
- ^ "Sky Sports to broadcast SA20". Super Sports. 9 January 2023.